baz wrote:The function of the track on the front chop is not obvious to me.

It's a secret.

Actually, it is used for a couple of hold down clamps. The fellow who designed it uses one to hold a saddle square (he made a wooden one for it today) and another hold down holds the tail board in place while making out the pins. He's been making and using this sort of vise for many years and he says the hold down clamps are really useful.

Adding a square can really speeds things up when setting up to transferring marks. That is an idea I had thought about incorporating into the vice, but I had not done it yet. The hold downs are even a better idea! Thanks to both of you for sharing the tips.

I like the idea of keeping the square as a separate thing. You can place it where you want it in the vise and with my luck, a permanently attached thing would just be in the way. Wish I could take credit for the idea but I'm only the messenger.

I wouldn't use elm either. I just made that up. I think he used pine or something else that is easier to work.

I don't think elm is good for much. My father told me that before I came along, he and my mother lived on the second floor in an old Victorian style house that had been divided up into apartments. He was given some elm to burn in the fireplace. He said he'd burn the same log for three or four nights. When they were ready to go to sleep he would put on asbestos gloves, grab the log and throw it out the window into the snow. In the morning he would go collect it and bring it in so it would dry out. He said it didn't give off much heat, either.

You are both right about Elm, nasty and unpredictable to work with and tough as old boots. It rewards you in the end but its a battle. I used it in Pommieland many years ago.Of course, now, Dutch Elm disease ruining city landscapes.And funnily enuf: on the news tonite, A lady walking down one of our leafy Melbourne boulevards today, got fatally crushed by a hundred year old healthy Elm. (Theres more to this).

Is this a Hijack? Never sure. Anyway, I love the portable Leg Vise. I want one. Suits my lifestle. But goes on the project list about 90 down.

And the story, Dave, sounds intriguing. The 'Old head'. More please.

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I am both an early bird and a night owl, I am some form of permanently energized dragon.

I don't know much more about the "old head". He's a member of one of the woodworking forums I participate on and he seems to have a vice for shop made vises. The screw is typically the most expensive part but he came up with the idea of using these cheap dumbbell handles which work quite well. He also buys inexpensive HDPE cutting boards to use for the bearings, shown in white. Another cool trick that he does is to drill and tap the ends of the brass pins so a small machine screw can be inserted to use as a handle to extract the pin if he wants to disassemble the thing.

Dave R wrote:I don't know much more about the "old head". He's a member of one of the woodworking forums I participate on and he seems to have a vice for shop made vises. The screw is typically the most expensive part but he came up with the idea of using these cheap dumbbell handles which work quite well. He also buys inexpensive HDPE cutting boards to use for the bearings, shown in white. Another cool trick that he does is to drill and tap the ends of the brass pins so a small machine screw can be inserted to use as a handle to extract the pin if he wants to disassemble the thing.

Great stuff, are you able to share the model? If so I might adapt it for metric and me, and share of course. Although I s'pose I could do it the hard way....

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I am both an early bird and a night owl, I am some form of permanently energized dragon.

Here's a work in progress shot of another Moxon-inspired vise. This one is considerably more expensive to build, though. The screws are Acme left-hand threaded rods that have been turned down over a good part of their length. The left hand threading allows the chop to be moved in when turning the handwheel clockwise. The main body of the vise has sides dovetailed into the front piece. Just waiting on some dimensions for those bits.

Here's a view from earlier when I was working out the order of the round bits that go on the shafts.

jtri, this latest vise is from a design by a woodworker on one of the woodworking fora that I am a member of. Interesting point: He used solid counter top material to make threaded inserts for the chop so it moves in and out with the turn of the hand wheel.

I have used "corian" for many things other than counter tops but not as a nut! Your texture should have told me what the material was. Is there a metal insert in the nut or are the threads to be cut into the "corian"? I need a small metal lathe to cut threads and turn some parts. Now to convince the wife...........

The guy who designed and built this vise said he threaded the Corain. He also said it was "not an easy task, but time and patience win out." He made a tap out of a piece of the threaded rod. He tapered the end and cut groves down the length.